Eight decades after the commencement of the Nuremberg Trials prosecuting Nazi Germany’s leaders for war crimes, the complete set of trial documents is now accessible online, free of charge. The digitization of over 150,000 Nuremberg Trials documents by the Harvard Law School Library spanned more than 20 years, culminating in a searchable online database featuring analyses, summaries, and photos.
Paul Deschner, the technical lead of The Nuremberg Trials Project, emphasized the significance of this endeavor. Deschner highlighted the importance of accessing these historical documents in understanding the factors that lead to such events, regardless of the era.
Launched on the 80th anniversary of the trials’ initiation in 1945, The Nuremberg Trials Project website aims to ensure the preservation and accessibility of these crucial historical records. The trials were pivotal in holding Nazi leaders accountable for Germany’s wartime atrocities, including the Holocaust, where six million Jewish individuals were murdered.
The initial trial indicted 24 defendants, with 19 convictions and 12 death sentences, one of which was carried out posthumously due to suicide. Subsequent trials overseen by the United States led to the conviction of nearly 200 additional Nazis, establishing a significant framework for addressing mass atrocities globally.
Despite the landmark status of the Nuremberg Trials, Deschner expressed concerns about the fading awareness of these events and the preceding horrors. The collection of Nuremberg Trial documents at Harvard, the second-largest outside the U.S. National Archives, includes comprehensive trial transcripts in English and supporting evidence.
The digitization process, initiated in 1998 to preserve deteriorating physical documents, aimed to provide organized and searchable materials with detailed context. Deschner emphasized the importance of making these resources accessible to the public, highlighting the dedicated efforts of a small team in meticulously reviewing the documents.
The archival project aligns with the original purpose of the trials — to create a detailed historical record for present and future understanding. Deschner emphasized the archive’s value as a tool for recognizing historical patterns that could potentially reoccur, urging people to explore and learn from this rich historical resource.